Genesis 24:14 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Genesis 24:14
And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.
a girl (from infancy to adolescence) · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
say
אֹמַ֤ר'o.Mar
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular
down
הַטִּיha.ti-
H5186
to stretch or spread out · verb, hiphil imperative, 2nd person feminine singular
pitcher
כַדֵּךְ֙kha.deKh
H3537
properly · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
drink
וְאֶשְׁתֶּ֔הve.'esh.Teh
H8354
to imbibe (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + verb, qal, 1st person common singular
say
וְאָמְרָ֣הve.'a.me.Rah
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Judges 6:37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall…
Judges 6:17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.
Genesis 15:8 And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
2 Samuel 5:24 And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall…
2 Kings 20:8-11 And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the thir…
Isaiah 7:11 Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.
Exodus 4:1-9 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared…
Judges 18:5 And they said unto him, Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 24:10-28
Abraham's servant now begins to make a figure in this story; and, though he is not named, yet much is here recorded to his honour, and for an example to all servants, who shall be honoured if, by faithfully serving God and their masters, they adorn the doctrine of Christ (compare Pro 27:18 with Tit 2:10); for there is no respect of persons with God, Col 3:24, Col 3:25. A good servant that makes conscience of the duty of his place, and does it in the fear of God, though he make not a figure in the world nor have praise of men, yet shall be owned and accepted of God and have praise of him. Observe here,
I. How faithful Abraham's servant approved himself to his master. Having received his charg…
And he said, O Lord God of my master--The servant appears worthy of the master he served. He resolves to follow the leading of Providence; and while he shows good sense in the tokens he fixes upon of ascertaining the temper and character of the future bride, he never doubts but that in such a case God will direct him.
Adam Clarke on Genesis 24:12
And he said, O Lord God, etc. - "The conduct of this servant," says Dr. Dodd, "appears no less pious than rational. By supplicating for a sign, he acknowledges God to be the great superintendent and director of the universe, and of that event in particular; and at the same time, by asking a natural sign, such as betokened humanity, condescension, and other qualities which promised a discreet and virtuous wife, he puts his prayer upon such a discreet, rational footing, as to be a proper example for all to imitate who would not tempt the providence of God, by expecting extraordinary signs to be given them for the determination of cases which they are capable of deciding by a proper use of thei…
And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say,
let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink,.... The pitcher of water she should have upon her shoulder, after she had drawn it out of the well:
and she shall say, drink, and I will give thy camels drink also; not only very readily and courteously invite him to drink himself but also propose to draw water for his camels too:
let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; to be his wife; he desired this might be the token by which he might know who the person was God had appointed, and whom he approved of as a proper wife for Isaac, and whom he pointed at in his Providence most clearly to be the pers…
The Church Fathers
Here, then, a woman proclaims Christ to the Samaritans, and at the end of the Gospels also the woman who saw him before all the others tells the apostles of the resurrection of the Savior.
Now, dearly beloved, let us briefly see, as far as we can, what these facts mean. When blessed Abraham directed his servant to take a wife for his son, he portrayed an image of God the Father. Just as when he offered the boy as a holocaust, he then presented an image of God the Father, so also his servant signified the words of prophecy. For this reason Abraham sent his servant into a distant land to take a wife for his son, because God the Father intended to send his prophetic word throughout the world to search for the Catholic church as a spouse for his only-begotten Son.
HOW THE REQUEST FOR A MIRACLE DIFFERS FROM THE CONSULTING OF PREMONITIONS. — We must investigate the difference between the unlawful sorceries of that request for a miracle made by the servant of Abraham when he begged God to show him that the wife of his master Isaac would be the one who would tell him: You drink, and I will give your camels drink, until they shall have done drinking . It is one thing to ask for a miracle which is extraordinary; it is another thing to observe that which has nothing marvelous and meaningful except in the vain and superstitious interpretation of diviners. But still, is it permissible to ask for a miracle, to be assured of what one wants to know? This is not a small inquiry. From here it is understood that it is said that they tempt the Lord who do not do it correctly. The Lord himself, being tempted by the devil, proclaimed proof from Scripture: You shall not tempt the Lord your God (Mt. 4:7). Indeed, the Lord was asked as if he were a mere mortal, that he himself show with some proof with a miracle how great he was, that is, the great power he had before God; which is a sin to do. But this evil temptation must not be confused with the conduct of Gideon (Jud. 6:17), who was in a hurry to engage in battle with the enemy: he consulted God on this occasion rather than tempt him. Ahaz also feared in Isaiah to solicit a miracle for fear of appearing to tempt God at the moment when the Lord gives him the advice of the prophet to ask for one (Is. 4:11-12). He probably believed that the prophet was trying to find out if he remembered the precept that forbids God to tempt. [
Dictionary and topics
Abraham — Father of a multitude, son of Terah, named (Gen. 11:27) before his older brothers Nahor and Haran, because he was the heir of the promises. Till the age of seventy, Abram sojourned among his kindred…
Barrel — A vessel used for keeping flour (1 Kings 17:12, 14, 16). The same word (cad) so rendered is also translated “pitcher,” a vessel for carrying water (Gen. 24:14; Judg. 7:16).
Eliezer — God his help. (1.) “Of Damascus,” the “steward” (R.V., “possessor”) of Abraham’s house (Gen. 15:2, 3). It was probably he who headed the embassy sent by Abraham to the old home of his family in…
Gate — (1.) Of cities, as of Jerusalem (Jer. 37:13; Neh. 1:3; 2:3; 3:3), of Sodom (Gen. 19:1), of Gaza (Judg. 16:3). (2.) Of royal palaces (Neh. 2:8). (3.) Of the temple of Solomon (1 Kings 6:34, 35; 2…
Hivites — One of the original tribes scattered over Palestine, from Hermon to Gibeon in the south. The name is interpreted as “midlanders” or “villagers” (Gen. 10:17; 1 Chr. 1:15). They were probably a branch…
Isaac — Laughter. (1) Israel, or the kingdom of the ten tribes (Amos 7:9, 16). (2.) The only son of Abraham by Sarah. He was the longest lived of the three patriarchs (Gen. 21:1-3). He was circumcised when…
Laban — White. (1.) The son of Bethuel, who was the son of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. He lived at Haran in Mesopotamia. His sister Rebekah was Isaac’s wife (Gen. 24). Jacob, one of the sons of this marriage,…
Lord — There are various Hebrew and Greek words so rendered. (1.) Heb. Jehovah, has been rendered in the English Bible LORD, printed in small capitals. This is the proper name of the God of the Hebrews. The…
Prayer — Is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory or…
Rebekah — A noose, the daughter of Bethuel, and the wife of Isaac (Gen. 22:23; 24:67). The circumstances under which Abraham’s “steward” found her at the “city of Nahor,” in Padan-aram, are narrated in Gen.…
Drink
שְׁתֵ֔הshe.Teh
H8354
to imbibe (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
give
אַשְׁקֶ֑ה'ash.Keh
H8248
to quaff · verb, hiphil imperfect, 1st person common singular
camels
גְּמַלֶּ֖יךָge.ma.Lei.kha
H1581
a camel · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
drink
שָׁקָהshâqâh
H8248
to quaff
appointed
הֹכַ֙חְתָּ֙ho.Khach.ta
H3198
to be right (i.e. correct) · verb, hiphil perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
servant
לְעַבְדְּךָ֣le.'av.de.Kha
H5650
a servant · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
Isaac
לְיִצְחָ֔קle.yitz.Chak
H3327
Jitschak (or Isaac) · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
know
אֵדַ֔ע'e.Da'
H3045
to know (properly · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular
shewed
עָשִׂ֥יתָ'a.Si.ta
H6213
to do or make · verb, qal perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
kindness
חֶ֖סֶדChe.sed
H2617
kindness · noun, common masculine singular absolute
master
אֲדֹנִֽי'a.do.Ni
H113
sovereign · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
O lord God of my master Abraham. The servant, being destitute of counsel, retakes himself to prayers. Yet he does not simply ask counsel of the Lord; but he also prays that the maid appointed to be the wife of Isaac should be brought to him with a certain sign, from which he might gather that she was divinely presented to him. It is an evidence of his piety and faith, that in a matter of such perplexity he is not bewildered, as one astonished; but breaks forth into prayer with a collected mind. But the method which he uses [4] seems scarcely consistent with the true rule of prayer. For, first, we know that no one prays aright unless he subjects his own wishes to God. Wherefore there is nothi…
The servant then went, with ten camels and things of every description belonging to his master, into Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor, i.e., Haran, where Nahor dwelt (Gen 11:31, and Gen 12:4). On his arrival there, he made the camels kneel down, or rest, without the city by the well, "at the time of evening, the time at which the women come out to draw water," and at which, now as then, women and girls are in the habit of fetching the water required for the house (vid., Robinson's Palestine ii. 368ff.). He then prayed to Jehovah, the God of Abraham, "Let there come to meet me to-day," sc., the person desired, the object of my mission. He then fixed upon a sign connected with the custom of th…
Abraham’s future daughter-in-law manifested hospitality and industry like Abraham’s (see 18:1-8). Ten thirsty camels could drink 250 gallons of water, so a woman who would work that hard for a stranger was certainly not lazy, but generous and hospitable.
QUESTIONS ON GENESIS, Q. 62 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Well — (Heb. beer), to be distinguished from a fountain (Heb. ‘ain). A “beer” was a deep shaft, bored far under the rocky surface by the art of man, which contained water which percolated through the strata…
Prayer · .By Abraham’ s servant — .By Abraham’ s servant
Prayer, Intercessory · Should be offered up for: Masters — Should be offered up for: Masters
Providence Of God, The · Saints should: Pray to be guided by — Saints should: Pray to be guided by
Servants · Good — Exemplified: Eliezer — Good — Exemplified: Eliezer
Symbols And Similitudes · Offering water to drink — Offering water to drink
Wells · Frequented by: Women who came to draw water — Frequented by: Women who came to draw water
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
